Arizona silver belt., 1887-08-13
Lire in the srssRAtsg.
a hKan Wac nas mad Experience Says
n u No N&nn pIcnic.s

~ tsAAM VINO AAetr AAffN FtAf FNN&N4AN1 IVY 2
~ II No sen Picnic.m
A writer IN Outing pets In a plea foI
tho steerage, and advises individuals or
families 70 whom Expenditure Is IN any
important degree consideration 10
travel By that means. as they van get TO
their destination at the rate Of 81 q day
instead Of at $40 day 1.-THE romance
OF travel, like the romance Of life ii the
rough sideOf IL, this writer says Why
NOS regard an experience in the steerage
rs a sea picnic or bit IL marine rusti-
cation?"
A gentleman who made a trip Ia the
steerage Of AN ocean steamship ''just tog
fun read tho article III Outing with
much interest. ~ wonder II Tine writer
ever tried steerage passageSn he said e.
a reporter for this paper, ~ think not.
The chances are that he has merely stood
on tire bridge and watched tile steerage
victims in their pleasanter odd moments
when they are allowed ON deck, and are
ioyons III their temporary release from
their dark Imprisonment below. Ger
tairiiy no man who had ever been steer
age passenger in reality would recon-
mend such an experiment. to any but q
lost soul who had only that tneans " e.
cape er0m some dread calamity, a
steerags passage Great heayeHs Doei
tho writer realize the full meaning 81 his
adviceg Now lot me tell You what s.
steerage Is like, a long, low, dark room,
diInly Illuminated during the day by
struggling rays through the thick head
lights, against which the waters swash
continually, and al night by smoky Lam
tern whose cherries rays only add to the
cheerless gloom. "A long board table, a
few round stools constitute the only
furniture Along the sides are ranged
two or three tiers of open hunks against
the damp ship tinlbers, for the room Is
mostly below the water line.
''Here are gathered pronaiscuously
men, women and children, herded to-
gcther like animals rather than human
beings In their miserable quarters, and In
their forced confinement mpdesty IS soon
forgotten, The ventilation at best Is bat
scant, and the exhalations from the per-
spring bodies and their not oyeralean ggsr.
ments, together with the reekiag timbars
the oder Of pitch, tie musty bedding, the
steam IRON the food and the fumes from
old tobacco pipes, render the atmosphere
foul, sitting, and nauseating in the ex-
treme, which IL by no means clarified ii
case Of violent weathe- when seasiolness
Is common, The only escape from the
uninsiting pen Is when the victims are AL
lowed ON deck iii pleasant weather life
ON deck q enjoyable and fill Of interest,
1.-The menu ~ tho steerage usually in
cluGi1s soups ia tin kettles, coarse meats,
hash, i'll boiled potatoes ana broken bread
from the cabin table. This food Is served
in tin dishpans. Tea and COLES are Passed
around IN buckets, the principal differ
ence between them being that tho tea Is
less thick and muddy than tile coffee. The
whole mess Is slung pell mell ia the table
and the passengers make dive and grab.
The number Of tin plates and cups, iron
kxiyes and forks and tin spoons Is linn
tied. Heor she who fails to secure alp-
ply OF dishes at the first grab must simply
wait till some lickier individual finishes.
There being no possible opportunity 10
wash the utensils, they mast be used as
they are, except such cleaning as could
DO done By scraping of with the knife,
Then there Ii another matter that
claims attention. No facilities are pro-
vided for bathing. The Storage passen-
ger may wash his hands and face in the
tin wash dish on deck, but that's
NJ. Under such conditions bugs and
germin thrive apace, and the less one il
Inclined 70 tolerate them the more they
are determined to grow intimate, and
heir increase IL only determined by tho
angth az the voyage New York Com,
nercial Advertiser.